Newsies in a Modern High School (Not a Great Title, I Know)
by katepuuulumber
Summary: Jack's school counselor, Medda Larkin, tells him he must join an extracurricular in order to meet graduation requirements, so he joins Journalism. After the club writes a story on how Principal Pulitzer is cutting after school activities, the principal decides to threaten to cut their club as well.
1. Chapter 1

Jack sat down in an uncomfortable chair in a tiny office, tired and slightly confused as to why he was even there. He looked around at the familiar setting, the pictures on the desk in front of him with their backs turned, the pale blue walls and the certificates that hung from them. Not much time passed before a woman walked in from behind him. She was an African American woman, a bit heavy set but beautiful nonetheless. Her short black hair curled a bit at her shoulders. She wore a vibrant pink blazer and a stern expression.

"Alright Medda, are you gonna tell me why you called me down here?" Jack looked up at his counselor.

"Jack, I told you that during school hours you are to address me as Ms. Larkin."

"My sincerest apologies. Now, not that I mind, but why am I not in pre-calc right now?"

"Jack, are you aware that it is a graduation requirement that you participate in at least one extracurricular activity during one of your years here?" she asked him, taking extra care to stress _requirement._

Jack sighed. "Yes, Ms. Larkin."

"And you have not participated in any?"

"Yes."

"And that it is your senior year?"

"Yes."

"Jack, do you want a diploma?"

"More than anything in the whole world," he replied sarcastically.

Medda sighed. "Jack, I know that you aren't the biggest fan of school, but your diploma is your ticket out of here. And you cannot graduate if you don't do any extracurriculars."

Jack took the ultimatum lightly. "Medda—Ms. Larkin—what do you want me to do? School's been in for a month. Every club's already started. And there's really nothing that interests me."

"Oh, come on Jack. Can't you join the Art Club or something?"

Jack laughed. "Do you know who's in Art Club?"

"Jack, are you really making fun of your fellow students? And at least they have chances of graduating! Do you not realize how important this is?" Jack sobered up, and just looked at her, unsure of what to say. She sighed. "Jack, you need to take this seriously. I know you want out of here. Somewhere new. Maybe that art school in Santa Fe?" He looked up, and she knew she had him hooked.

Jack cleared his throat. "Alright Ms. Larkin, what club do I have to join so I can get out of this hell hole?"

"Jack, you shouldn't be using language like that during school hours," she admonished, but was betrayed by her smile. "Now, it looks like Journalism is pretty light on members this year," she informed him.

"Ugh, I'm not gonna be writing any articles," Jack said. "I do enough writing in English."

"Jack, an article for the school paper does not have to be like an English essay. And what really matters is your participation." Jack still looked disgusted. Medda sighed a third time. "You could sign up as the photographer."

"Sounds reasonable," Jack decided. "I'd just need to take pictures? That's it?" Medda nodded. "Alright, then it looks like I'll be joining Journalism!" Jack said, standing up. "Alright Medda, it's been real, can't wait to see ya later—"

"Not so fast, Jack," Medda stopped him. "You're going to have to speak with the Journalism's president before you sign on."

Jack sighed. "Alright, who would that be and when can I see him?"

"_Her_ name is Katherine Plumber. You can talk to her at the meeting after school today."

"Alright, sounds like a plan," Jack said. The name was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't really place it. His mind was already occupied with his distaste for clubs, anyway. He took a pass from Medda's hand, leaving the counselor's office and heading back to his math class. He got there within a few minutes and took his usual seat by the window. He liked to look outside, pretend he wasn't stuck in school for a moment, that he was really experiencing the world.

"Hey Jack, what did ya get called down for?" a freckle-faced, sandy-haired boy whispered from Jack's left.

"I'm going to be joining Journalism, Crutch," Jack informed his friend matter-of-factly.

Crutchie stifled a laugh and furrowed his brow . "But, Jack, you hate writing."

"Look, I need some sorta extracurricular, or I can't graduate."

"Why don't you just join Art Club?"

"Why does everyone have to ask that?"

"Kelly, Morris, can you boys pay attention?" Mr. Seitz asked impatiently.

"Yes, sir," Jack replied without the slightest bit of respect.

Seitz frowned, but turned back to the board.

"You know, maybe I'll join Journalism, too," Crutchie said.

"Why? You already did an extracurricular freshman year," Jack responded.

"Well band was not exactly my cup of tea. And I never do anything after school and I obviously can't do sports"—he gestured toward the crutch by his desk—"and it'd be cool to hang out, right?"

"I guess," Jack shrugged.

Mr. Seitz was just about to scold the two again when he noticed the time. "Peter, you and Jack may leave," he said, a bit defeated.

Jack rose from his seat and helped Crutchie up. They always got to leave class a bit early because of Crutchie's leg. They got to Crutchie's next class not long before the bell rang. Jack handed Crutchie his bag once he was seated, then left the room for his own class a few doors down. A boy with dark hair and a large nose walked in a couple minutes after Jack. He had never seen the boy before.

"You must be David," Mr. Nunzio said. "It's nice to have you with us. Now you can sit right there between Albert and Max." Nunzio pointed to an empty seat in between two of Jack's friends. One of them tapped David on the shoulder, and he turned around.

"So you're new?" he asked, and David nodded. "You just move here or something?"

"Uh, no, I transferred from private school," David replied.

"Huh, you ever been to public school before?"

"Nope," David said.

"Weird. Well, my name is Maxwell Higgins. But you may call me Race," he announced.

"Oh," David said, slightly confused by the nickname. "Well, I'm David Jacobs, but people call me Davey."


	2. Chapter 2

After school had ended, Jack and Crutchie headed down to the English wing, stopping at room E109, where the meeting was being held. Jack opened the door a crack, poking his head in. "Uh, is this the Journalism meeting?"

A girl with chestnut curls popped her head up and turned to look at him. "Jack Kelly?" she asked, surprised.

"Uh, Katherine Plumber?" he questioned, wondering how she knew his name.

"Um, yeah, that's me," she answered. "How can I help you?"

"We're, uh, joining your club?" he responded, unintentionally phrasing it as a question.

"Really?" she asked, seeming amused.

"Uh, yeah, what's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh, well, you kind of have a reputation for being a slacker," she replied. Her eyes grew wide. "Oh I am so sorry I just blurted that out that was so rude-"

He waved away her apology. "Don't worry about it. It's just nice to know I'm so well known," he smiled smugly.

"Um, okay," Katherine answered. _It's beginning to look like the talk is true,_ she thought. "So, what's your name?" she asked, turning to Crutchie.

"Peter," he smiled warmly, extending a hand. "Most people call me Crutchie, though."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Crutchie," she returned the smile. "So I guess you ought to meet the other members of the club," she now addressed both of them. "This here is Bill Hearst," she said, gesturing to a boy with gelled brown hair and an expensive looking sweater.

"Hello," he looked up from his notebook to greet them.

"That's Elmer Hopkins. And that's Patrick Finch. That's Ryan Samuels. You can call him Specs. Over there is Walter Cole." She then dropped her voice to a whisper. "But we like to call him Buttons." She giggled when she saw Buttons give her a look.

The boys waved. _Medda wasn't kidding when she said _light_,_ Jack thought. The boys sat in various places throughout the room, all writing in notebooks, a couple frantically, as if afraid the words were going to fall out of their heads, and the others slowly, trying to find the words. Elmer bit his lip in frustration, obviously suffering from writer's block.

The two new recruits took in the scene for a moment. "So, what are we going to do?" Crutchie broke the silence and looked at Katherine.

Katherine smiled. "Well right now we're-"

"Um, excuse me, is this the Journalism meeting?" they heard a boy's voice from behind them. "I'm new here and I-"

"Are you joining?!" Katherine asked, rushing up to him.

"Uh, yeah, my name is Davey Jacobs-"

"Three in one day!" Katherine exclaimed. She could've hugged him. "I'm sorry," she apologized after she calmed down. "It's just this has never been a really big club and it's kind of my baby and-you know what? I'll shut up." She ushered him into the room. "Meet the boys. Bill, Elmer, Finch, Buttons-"

"Don't call me that!"

"Specs, Jack, Crutchie."

"Um, nice to meet you all," Davey said, a bit awkwardly. He wasn't the best in social situations, even though it was a small club. Davey was, in most every sense of the word, a complete and utter nerd. He was a straight-A student and had always been involved in a lot of academic clubs: Science Club, Mathletes, Journalism.

After she was satisfied that everyone was acquainted with one another, Katherine said, "Now, where was I…oh yeah! As I was saying. We are currently all working on articles for the end of the month's edition of _The Central High Sun_." She smiled. "It's all mostly first-month-of-school stuff. Covering all the activities now that they're in full swing. You guys shouldn't have too hard of a time figuring out what to write about."

"Uh, well I was kinda hoping I could just be, say, the photographer?" Jack said.

"Well, there's not really much to photograph," Katherine replied, looking about the room.

Jack sighed internally. _Medda_, he thought, a bit irritated, but amused. "Alright," he said. "I guess I'll figure something out."

"Um, okay," Katherine said. _Did he not know what Journalism was when he asked to join?_

"So, Katherine, you have any ideas for what I should try writing about?" Crutchie asked.

"Just try and think of something relevant to the student body at large. You can write about most anything that applies to people our age. That is, as long as it's school appropriate." She shot Jack a look.

"What?" he asked, defensive, yet still appreciating the attention he got from her.

"Just write what you know. You could write advice for students. You could cover school events. For example, the school play just started rehearsals, so I'll be sitting in on tomorrow's practice after school and writing about that. Just, write about something that interests you. Something exciting."

"Well then, I've got an idea of what I wanna write about," Jack said, winking at her.

She laughed. "And I've got a headline for you! Cheeky boy gets nothing for his troubles."

**Author's Note: So guys thank you thank you thank you for your kind reviews! You're all so freaking sweet! Have any of you ever read _Fangirl_? If not, I highly suggest it. If so, I feel like Cather after that girl walks up to her and tells her how she's her favorite author, even though what she writes is fanfic. Even though I highly doubt I'm any of you guys' favorite, I really appreciate the compliments and I got super pumped to update. I'm kinda worried you guys won't like it as much, but I started this for fun, and I like it, so I really hope you will too. Love love love love love love love**

**-Bella**

**P.S. Expect the story to follow the musical a bit more closely after this chapter. Perhaps a run in with Dean Snyder is next? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I probably should've put this on the other chapters, but it's here now:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies!**

"So are you guys coming over later?" Race asked as he gathered his books from his locker.

"I don't know, we have to stay after school for a Journalism meeting," Crutchie said. "You know Race, you should think about joining. And getting the other guys, too. We'd all get to hang out three times a week."

To Jack's surprise, Race seemed to actually consider it. "Huh, maybe. I mean, track doesn't start until spring, and I don't really have anything better to do," he said with a shrug.

"See Jack, even Race thinks it could be cool." Jack groaned. "Oh come on, Jack," Crutchie began, "It's not all bad. Besides, you didn't seem to mind being there so much when you were talking to that girl." He laughed as Jack glared at him.

"A girl?" Race's face split into a smirk. "Wh—"

"Move it, kid!" a tall jock with brown hair and a nasty grin commanded as he pushed a freshman to the side of the hallway. A boy with similar features started laughing from behind him.

"Dear me, what is that unpleasant aroma? I fear they're heating up the meatloaf in the cafeteria!" Race called out as he saw the boys approaching.

"Or could it be the Delancey brothers?" Crutchie joined in.

"I'd shut up with you, or you won't be able to use either of your legs," Oscar growled.

"Are you really gonna threaten a kid with a gimp leg?" Jack asked in anger, approaching the Delanceys.

"Well it doesn't just go for him!" Morris chimed in. "We can take you out, too!"

"Oh yeah? Go ahead!" Jack shouted. Morris threw a punch, but Jack ducked, and Morris's fist just went through air. Oscar tried to grab Jack, but Jack was too quick for him and managed to move just out of reach. Morris looked like he was going for another punch. Jack was bracing himself for a fight when he heard a voice boom down the hallway.

"I swear Kelly, if that's you in another fight!"

"Shoot!" Jack muttered, and started to sprint through the crowded hallway, trying to disappear amongst the kids headed towards their busses and cars. He could hear footsteps and shouting behind him. Jack was getting farther and farther from the English wing, but the school dean was hot on his trail.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Davey called out, noticing Jack running the opposite way from the meeting.

"No time to talk!" Jack shouted. Davey let his curiosity get the better of him and chased after Jack.

Jack soon found himself in front of the doors to the school auditorium and ducked inside, Davey close behind him. "Alright, I think we're good," Jack said, trying to catch his breath.

"What was that about?" Davey asked him.

"That was, uh, Dean Snyder. He saw me get into a bit of a fight. And if I can't escape another detention, I'm at least gonna try and postpone it."

"Fight?" Davey asked, incredulous. Then his eyes widened. "_Another?"_

Jack opened his mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by a booming voice from onstage. "Who is hiding back there? If you are not a member of the Fall Play, you are not allowed to be in this theater!"

Jack stood up, calling out, "Not even me, Ms. Larkin?"

"Jack Kelly," Ms. Medda sighed, shaking her head but unable to fight a smile. "Why are you interrupting my rehearsal?" She waited for a response as the cast members stared at him from onstage, whispering amongst themselves.

"Uh…" Jack looked around, trying to come up with an excuse as to why he would be in the theater. That's when he saw the familiar chestnut hair, poking above a seat in the fourth row. "I'm here to help Katherine with her article! On the play!" Jack announced, walking towards the confused-looking girl.

"Oh, are you now?" Medda asked, knowing he was lying. Jack nodded. "And your friend?" She gestured towards Davey, who was just then standing up, still in the back of the theater.

"Uh…same thing. He's in Journalism too," he replied awkwardly.

"Alright then," Medda decided. "Just try not to be any more of an interruption, okay?" she asked him, and he nodded. She turned towards the cast. "Alright, where were we?"

As Jack made his way over to Katherine, he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. "Jack, I'm gonna head to the meeting. It's been…interesting," Davey said, clearly not comfortable with the rule-breaking/lying that had just taken place.

"'Kay," Jack nodded. He could probably have gone with Davey, but he decided he wanted to stick around and try and talk with Katherine.

"Well, hello again," he smirked as he sat down in the seat beside her.

"Please go away. I'm working," she said, never looking up from her notepad.

"Aw, come on," he nudged her. "You don't wanna talk to the famous Jack Kelly?"

"Um, no, I don't," she said flatly.

Jack wasn't used to taking no for an answer. And he really didn't like hearing it from her. There was something…different, about Katherine, he decided. He didn't believe in love at first sight—_no, that's for suckers_, he thought. He looked at her again, taking in each curl, each little freckle, the way her brow furrowed as she tried to think of the right way to write her article. But it wasn't just her beauty that distracted him. It was how smart she was. And how independent. She didn't need him—she didn't need anyone.

_Love at first sight's for suckers_, he reminded himself. _At least, it used to be._

He was suddenly feeling inspired. He dug through his backpack, which he'd set in the seat beside him. _Ah-ha._ He pulled out his ever-present sketchpad and a pencil, opening up to a fresh page. He then pulled himself up on top the back of the seat in front of him, so that he'd have a better view of Katherine, and started sketching.

Katherine had been so consumed in her work that she didn't even notice him doing this. It was only when one of the actors onstage read a funny line and she threw her head back laughing that she looked up and found herself looking at Jack, who was hunched over the sketch pad, concentrating as hard as he ever had. She frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Quiet down! They're rehearsing!" he whisper-shouted.

She rolled her eyes. "You are the most impossible boy—"

"Shhh!"

"_Ever_," she hissed.

Jack continued to sketch for a few more minutes, until he had reached what he dubbed a satisfactory picture. He smiled, gently tearing it from the sketchpad, something he rarely did with his pictures. He then laid it down in the seat beside her and left the theater, whistling. Hearing said whistling, Katherine twisted around in her seat, watching him leave. She then noticed the paper laying face-down in the seat beside her. She flipped it over and gasped. It was amazing—it was exactly like her, down to the last freckle. She turned around again, but Jack was long gone.


	4. Chapter 4

"I can't believe I'm actually letting you drag me into this," a freckle-faced, auburn-haired girl grumbled as she followed Specs through the English wing.

"Hey, don't blame this on me," he grinned. "You're doing this of your own free will."

"Well you've worn me down over the last _four years_!" she retorted. "'Oh come on, Sniper, it'll be fun, Sniper, really, I thought you were my _best friend_.'"

Specs just laughed. He couldn't really be mad about her mockery when he was finally getting her to come to Journalism. _Just give her a few minutes to be a drama queen,_ he decided. _She'll be back to normal by the time we get there, anyway._

Once they had reached the room, Specs grabbed the door handle and held the door open for her. "Ladies first," he teased. With a sigh, Sniper took one step into the room, then froze. She turned around with a look of annoyance.

"Specs, I thought you said Journalism was _low on members_."

"Uh, yeah, it is," he said, confused. That's when he looked into the room and saw the mayhem ensuing from within.

"Oh, hi Specs! We got some new members!" Katherine smiled widely, as if oblivious to the chaos that had erupted behind her.

"Hey, that's my pen!" A shorter boy with brown hair yelled to a taller, paler boy with bright red hair, looking ready to fight him over it.

A lanky boy with light brown hair, a large nose, and a frustrated expression was chasing after a shorter, Asian-looking boy with black hair. "I know you took it! I need that!" the lanky one called, while another boy with caramel hair and a mischievous grin stood in the corner, flipping through a wallet. An African American boy sat laughing next to Crutchie, and a blond boy was telling Jack a joke.

"Uh, Katherine…" Specs said, looking around, unsure of what to make of the scene. He turned to Sniper, but she'd already made her way over to Crutchie. Specs gave Katherine a questioning look, and she shrugged, giving him a look that said, _It's not every day that we get this many members._

Katherine decided to try and call the room to order. "Um, does everybody know each other?" she called out.

The Asian boy strode over to Katherine, giving a little bow. "Actually, I don't think I've introduced myself to the lady yet," he grinned.

She laughed. "Ease up, _Romeo_," she joked.

"Huh, I guess I did!" he scratched his head upon hearing his name. He walked back towards the others, leaving Katherine confused. She shrugged again.

"Albert! Race!" Jack called out to the redhead and the short boy, who looked like they were ready to knock each other's teeth out. "Show some respect, would ya?"

"Hey, it's not my fault he's a dirty thief," Race spit out, responding to Jack but glaring at Albert. Jack sighed at the both of them. Albert grinned smugly.

"Albert's not the only dirty thief in this room," the lanky boy declared, glaring at the boy who had stolen his wallet.

"Really, Mush?" Jack shook his head, turning away from the pick-pocket. "Look, I'm sorry Katherine—"

"No, no, it's fine," she reassured him, although she wasn't so thrilled about the ruckus. She decided to try changing the subject. "How about we all get to know each other?"

Jack looked at her with a face that said, _You sure?_ but proceeded anyway. "Alright…well that's Romeo, Albert, Race, Mush, Jojo—" the lanky boy—"Bunsen—" the blond boy—"and Henry." The African American boy waved a hand.

"And this here's Sniper!" Specs proudly introduced his friend, who gave a half-hearted smile.

"Well it's great to have you all here—"

"Wait a minute," Davey, who had been sitting silently with Bill, Elmer, and Buttons for the last few minutes, spoke up. "Isn't there an adult in charge here? Like, no offense, Katherine, but are you really allowed to run this club all by yourself?"

Katherine was taken aback. "Oh!" she said. "Um…well, our sponsor is actually Principal Pulitzer."

Davey looked surprised. "The principal? Is he allowed to do that? And he never supervises—"

"Yeah, well, he trusts me," Katherine cut him off. Davey looked unsatisfied, but he let it go. Jack, not being a very big fan of the principal, gave Davey a _What's her deal?_ sort of look, but didn't say anything.

"So, uh, Katherine," Jack got her attention, "What's your next big story?"

She smiled. "I'm glad you asked. I'm writing about the senseless cuts to extracurriculars that have been taking place lately."

"'Senseless cuts?'" Race asked.

"Yes," she replied, becoming quite serious. "In this last month alone Pulitzer's moved to cut the Chess Club, Latin Club, and Scholastic Club."

"Well, there's gotta be a reason for him to do that," Davey said.

Katherine sighed. "The School Board says it's to save money. But those clubs cost barely anything next to our sports. And they actually do well at competitions." She rolled her eyes. "Unlike our football team."

"Hey, how's the football team supposed to have any luck with a couple players like the Delanceys?" Henry joked.

"Or a coach like Mr. Weasel!" Albert added. The room erupted in laughter.

Katherine smiled. "My point is, we've got to save extracurriculars. Sports are all fine and dandy, but there's gotta be some stuff left for your not so…athletically inclined kids, too."

"You think you can do that just by writing an article?" Jack asked sincerely.

"Yeah," she grinned. "Yeah, I think I can."

**A/N: Guys it's been too long! Sorry it's taken me like two weeks to update. I don't know if that is normally considered too long, but it feels too long to me. I've been preoccupied with school work (hooray high school) and procrastinating on my Tumblr (plug alert: my blog is katepkelly) and also I've been having more musical rehearsals lately (this year my school is doing ****_The Drowsy Chaperone_****) (it's a really good show). But yeah I'm glad to finally have another chapter up and I don't have school tomorrow so maybe I can have another chapter up tomorrow! This chapter is the one that has scared me the most because I just couldn't think of the right way to write it (haha) for awhile but after this it should be slightly less choppy sailing. I'm gonna stop rambling now**

**xoxo Bella**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Newsies._ But it lives within my heart.**

Katherine arrived at school early a couple mornings later. She sat in the All Purpose Room as most kids did, but she sat alone, occupied with her work. She had compiled together interviews of several students from the clubs that had been shut down and was trying to figure out the layout of her article when someone sat down beside her.

"Hello, Katherine," she could almost hear the smugness of his smile.

"Hello, Jack," she greeted him, looking up from her notepad.

"Whaddaya got there?" he asked, looking at her writing. "That for your article?"

She nodded. "Yup."

"Cool, cool," he said, leading to an awkward silence. After a moment they both glanced at each other, and Katherine cleared her throat and spoke up.

"So, what's your story? Are you going to apply to art school?"

He looked at her with surprise in his eyes. "What makes you ask that?" he asked.

"Well, you're an artist!" she smiled at him, then bent down to open up her book bag. She pulled out a piece of paper. The sketch he drew of her. "You have real talent," she told him sincerely.

A smile played at his lips. He leaned back in his chair, propping his legs up on the table. He decided to attempt to keep an air of mystery "Well, maybe that isn't what I want," he said casually.

"Then what do you want?" she asked.

He leaned forward to look at her. "Can't you see it in my eyes?"

Katherine threw up a little in her mouth. But, rather than being insulted, Jack just laughed to himself before she decided to change the subject.

"So, uh, are you their leader?" she asked. "It seems like all those boys answer to you," she told him.

He waved away the notion with his hand. "I'm just a blowhard. Davey's the brains. It's probably good he moved here, or we'd all somehow end up expelled."

"Modesty is not a quality I would've pinned on you," she teased. "So you and Davey are chummy now?"

"'Chummy?'" he laughed, but she just looked at him. He shrugged. "We're kind of friends now, I guess. He's not real good at socializing. But I've been showing him the ins and outs of the school."

She nodded. "So…why did you join Journalism, anyway?"

"Pretty girl," he said slyly.

"Jack!" she laughed at him. "No. Real reason."

"Alright," he started, "I needed an extracurricular."

"Why didn't you just join Art Club?" Jack shot her a look. She rolled her eyes. "Okay, well, why Journalism?"

"Medda suggested it."

"Medda?"

"Uh, Ms. Larkin. Counselor. Director of the play."

"You know her personally?"

"Old friend of my dad's."

She nodded. Just then the bell rang, signifying that it was time for them to head to their first hour class. Katherine pulled her backpack onto her shoulders. "I'll talk to you later, Jack," she smiled.

"Later," he waved.

"And, about your article?"

She turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Write it good."

* * *

_You heard Jack_, Katherine thought in her room that night. _Write it good._

She was lying in bed, staring at her laptop and suffering from a bad case of writer's block. This had been her position for most of the night, really. She had gotten home and done her homework as quickly as humanly possible, and then she'd turned on her computer, determined to write the best article of her life. Her mother practically had to drag her down for dinner, and yet she didn't have more than a couple of not-so strong sentences written out. _Come on, Katherine. You can do this._ She tried typing out the next sentence, then sighed. _I have no clue what I'm doing._

As she sorted through all the notes she had written down, she felt her thoughts shift towards Jack. _Sure, he's handsome, and, charismatic, I guess…but he's also a know-nothing, skirt-chasing, cocky little son of a—_

She stopped herself. What was she doing? He wasn't worth her time! She got back to writing. This was an important story! She could help those kids. All she wanted was to better the world around her. And sure, it was just high school, but anyone who ever did anything of note started off small.

She smiled to herself, whistling as these thoughts ran through her head. Her confidence felt boosted, and she was writing at a steady pace when she found herself picturing the smug smile that Jack seemed to always wear. _What a face…no! _She felt like banging her head against the wall. She needed to focus. She couldn't be thinking about Jack. Why would she want to think about him anyway? All he ever did was flirt with her. Ceaselessly. And he didn't seem to have any motivation whatsoever. What did he even plan to do with his life? She was so ambitious and driven, and he was so reckless and impulsive…Katherine soon realized that thinking about why she shouldn't be thinking about him was still thinking about him. Her brain hurt. She felt like rage quitting and flipping over the laptop.

But she didn't. _She had this_. Her ideas were all there, scattered across her bed in various notepads. That's what she did whenever she got an idea—she scribbled it down on the closest piece of paper she could find. She searched the pages, flipping through urgently. Suddenly it began to fall into place. The words sprang from her fingers and onto the screen in front of her. She smiled with satisfaction when it was finally all done, saving the article and shutting down her laptop. Before she knew it she was out cold.

**A/N: Hello again! I was like on a roll writing this this morning and then I got to the "Watch What Happens" part and I got some very ironic writer's block. But I think it's as good as it's gonna get. I was gonna rage quit, but then I remembered how yesterday I said this update might be up today, and then I was like _Bella you don't actually have to put it up today_ but I was kinda like_ You know what past self? Challenge accepted._ And I can be stubborn about stuff like this. It's probably a bad thing. Oh well. Hope ya guys like this chapter! Thanks so much for the kind reviews! ****They really, really mean a lot!**

**Lots of love,**

**Bella**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** **I don't own _Newsies._**

"Davey, where are Jack and Crutchie?" Katherine asked urgently. Her eyes were wide with concern. The meeting had started fifteen minutes before, and the two had still not shown up.

"Well, uh, it's kinda a long story…" Davey trailed off, but Katherine looked at him expectantly. "Alright. Crutchie got in a fight with the Delanceys after they gave him crap about Journalism. He got beat up pretty bad, but he still has to serve detention, whereas Coach Wiesel got the Delanceys out because the whole school's biased towards the football team."

"What?" Katherine exclaimed, fuming. "And what about Jack?"

"I don't know. He looked really angry. He stormed off somewhere. He might have left. I just don't know."

Race looked over, seeing that Katherine was upset. He frowned, determined to lighten the mood. "Hey, Kath, you and Davey just gonna sulk over there or are you gonna actually start the meeting? Feels like we've been waiting for weeks!"

Katherine tried to hide her own frown with a grin. "Well, I actually do have some good news. This month's paper is all printed out! I actually brought a copy with me," she said, pulling out the paper.

"Well lemme see!" Race flashed her a smile, rushing over. The other boys surrounded her, too.

"Hey, there's my name! _My_ article!" The boys started fighting over the paper, all eager to see what they'd worked on.

"I just wish Jack was here to see it," Katherine sighed.

"Could you stow the seriousity long enough to just drink in the moment?" Race asked her, shaking his head. He then climbed to the top of his desk, announcing proudly, "I'm famous!"

"Yeah, too bad we aren't getting paid," Henry joked.

Race just looked at him, taking a bite out of his sandwich. "Ya stupid or what? Ya don't need money when yer famous. When yer famous, the world is yer erster."

Everyone just looked at him for a moment before Davey finally spoke up. "Your what?"

"Yer erster?" Race swallowed. "Your fancy clam with the pearl inside?"

"Oh! Oyster!" everyone said.

"Jeez, Race, swallow next time before you speak," Henry joked. He then looked from the sandwich to his own bag and to the sandwich again. "Hey!" he snatched it from Race's hand. "That's my sandwich!"

"And how do you know that?" Race asked, trying to grab it back.

"I know what I packed!" Henry yelled. "Pastrami on rye with a sour pickle!"

"You calling me a thief?" Race hollered.

"Hey, you are what you eat!"

"Boys! BOYS. BREAK IT UP." Katherine shouted.

They all turned to look at her, shocked.

"Well, you can't be fighting!" she shrugged. "This should be a celebration!"

Murmurs of agreement filled the room.

"Hey everyone, let's go to Jacobi's!" someone suggested, and there were loud cheers of agreement. The meeting was pretty much over. Somehow the paper got back to Katherine as the others began filing out of the room. Katherine sighed as they all ran out, sitting down in a nearby desk. She thought everyone had left when she heard a voice.

"Katherine, are you coming?" Davey asked.

"Oh, um, yeah," she said. "I just…I wonder where Jack is. I hope he's alright."

Davey seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I think I know somewhere we can check."

* * *

"Thanks for doing this, Jack," Medda said as he painted. "It's nice to have an extra hand making these sets."

"It's no problem," he mumbled.

Medda frowned. "Were you telling the truth when you said you didn't have a meeting today?"

He looked up, but didn't meet her eyes. "Of course I was."

"You better not have come here to run away from something again."

"Again?"

"You know what I'm talking about," she said knowingly.

"Hey! Thanks for letting a pal know you're alive! Why didn't you come to the meeting?" Davey asked, entering the auditorium, Katherine in tow.

Medda shot Jack a look of disapproval, then walked a little ways away, giving them some space, but still monitoring them.

Jack sighed. "I didn't exactly want to be found."

"Oh, lighten up! Nobody died!" Davey joked. "Did you see the paper? Katherine's got it right here! All of our articles are in there!"

"Congratulations," Jack mumbled.

"Jack…" Katherine started, walking closer to him.

"'Jack' what?" he turned to face her, visibly angry. "I'm supposed to take care of Crutch! That's how it's been since day one! And the Delanceys just come in and beat him up 'cause they know he can't fight back, and then he ends up in detention and they walk free just 'cause they're some kinda school royalty—"

"But that's not your fault!" Davey insisted.

"I shoulda given those Delanceys a taste of their own medicine." Jack countered.

"But you didn't!" Katherine interjected. "You did the right thing! I mean, you can't fight fire with fire."

He looked her in the eye. "I only did it-er, didn't do it-because I'm one detention from a suspension." He sighed. "It was selfish."

Katherine shook her head. "No, it wasn't. It was smart. Do you honestly think Crutchie would want you to get in trouble over him? Besides, he can take care of himself for an hour or so."

Jack gave in with a sigh. "I guess you're right."

Katherine looked pleased with herself. "So when are you gonna be done here? Everyone's at Jacobi's. When does detention end? We can pick Crutchie up…"

**A/N: I let two weeks go by again, didn't I? Oops. Sorry about that. I really wanted to start updating weekly. But here's the next chapter. I know the ending's not to strong. I'll make up for it. To be honest I've just been waiting to write the chapter after this one. I have _ideas._ Also, as you can see, I kinda skipped over "Seize the Day." That's because for making-sense's sake it has to come a little after this. Hopefully next chapter. And I'm not going to write "Santa Fe," but Jack's definitely going to talk about it more. Also I've been thinking about starting other stories? Like I'm definitely going to see this one through, don't worry about that. But I'm also thinking about a story that would take place actually in 1899, and maybe after this story a series of one shots of modern day life. Also maybe not just _Newsies. _If you follow my tumblr (katepkelly), you'll see that I've become a big fan of _Next to Normal_ lately. So maybe something about that too? I don't know. I'm gonna stop rambling now. **

**Talk to you later,**

**Bella**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Newsies._**

Katherine was late to the next meeting, surprising everyone. She was usually the first person in the room. When she finally entered, everyone grew silent. She was pale as a ghost, and visibly upset.

She took a deep breath before speaking: "Guys…this is…our last meeting."

Whispered cries of "What?" and "No!" rang throughout the room, until Jack stood up, looking greatly offended.

"Why?" he asked, demanding an answer.

"Um, Principal Pulitzer didn't exactly like what I had to say in my article," she said quietly.

"But that article was amazing, Kath!" Race insisted, and the others muttered whispers of agreement.

She smiled sadly. "Thanks, Race, but we did sort of criticize the school. Something you're not really supposed to do in the school paper."

"That's bull!" Jack said.

"I know!" Katherine responded. She was starting to get fired up. "I tried to talk to him, I really did! He told me that it wasn't any of our business writing articles to insult the system. And then he tried to say that the school doesn't need a paper anyway! That people can get any news they want on the school website! But I told him—I told him that this club is so much more than that, it's about expressing yourself and what we write could change things and we have a right to—"

"Whoa," Jack interjected, "You spoke like that to the principal?"

Katherine was taken aback by the question. "Um, yes?"

Jack nodded in approval, then spoke. "So, how are we gonna get the paper back?"

She looked surprised. "Get it back?"

He looked at her as if his was an obvious response to the situation. "Well, duh. I mean, we can't just give up."

Whispers of agreement began to fill the room. Katherine looked around at her friends, then started to nod. "Yeah...yeah, I suppose you're right." She smiled.

"Hey, this is sweet and all," Race interjected, "but, uh…how exactly do you think we're gonna face the principal?"

Everyone looked at Jack expectantly.

"Uh…"

"Uh…we can figure that out at the next meeting!" Davey exclaimed. "I mean, it looks like we're out of time!"

Everyone looked at the time, nodding.

"But wait, how are we gonna _have_ a next meeting?" asked Specs.

"We have it at somebody's house," Jack shrugged. "So, who volunteers?"

"Hey, why don't you do it, Jack?" asked Albert.

"You kidding me?" Jack laughed. "My ma would die before she let me have fifteen people over at once. What about you, Katherine?"

"Me have it?! Definitely not!" she said quickly.

Jack gave her a questioning glance before turning to Davey. "How about you?"

"Me?" Davey asked, and Jack nodded. His first thought was, _My parents would kill me! _But that's when he saw how determined Jack was, and the pleading look on Katherine's face, and he blurted it out: "Sure!"

_Well, they told me to make new friends._

* * *

Jack rang the doorbell to the modest house, and Davey answered almost immediately. "Jack!" he smiled. Then, more quietly, "Jack…are you sure you know what you're doing? I mean, no offense or anything…but you seemed a little…scared?"

Jack shook his head. "No, we've got to do this." He smiled. "So where is everybody?"

"Up in my room," Davey said, leading him upstairs where everyone was waiting for them.

"Hey David, your friends are pretty cool!" shouted a high voice as they entered the room.

"Oh no," Davey groaned.

"Who's this?" Jack grinned as a little boy of about ten waved from his seat next to Race.

"This is my little brother Les," Davey said unenthusiastically as Les walked over to greet them.

"I'm Jack Kelly," Jack said, shaking the boy's hand. "Nice to meet you, kid."

Les followed Jack closely as he walked over to Katherine.

"Well, now that everybody's here, we might as well get right to the point," Davey said.

"So, any ideas?" Katherine piped up after a moment of silence.

Again the kids turned to Jack.

Race sighed. "Oh, come on Jack, you've got to have thought of something!"

"Yeah!" others agreed, moving in.

"Would you keep your shirt on and let me think this through?" Jack exclaimed, to no avail.

"Stop crowding him!" Les yelled, surprising everyone. "Let the man work it out!" he moved back, waiting for others to do the same. But he had a tendency to get impatient."You still thinking, Jack?" he asked.

"Sure he is. Can't you smell the smoke?" Race joked.

Jack shot him a glare, then spoke. "Well, I figure we just do what we've been doing," he shrugged. "We write about it. And if we can't have a school paper—"

Katherine's eyes widened. "We make our own."

"Exactly," Jack smiled smugly.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to work-writing our own story!"

* * *

"Hey Katherine, wait up!" Jack called out to her as they left Davey's house that afternoon. "Are you gonna walk your whole way home?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"Oh, yeah, I really don't live to far from here," she assured him.

"Come on, why don't you let me give you a ride?"

"Really, Jack, I'm fine," she said.

"Alright, then at least let me walk with you?" he pleaded.

"Okay, fine," she gave in, smiling.

"So...how are things?" Jack attempted to make conversation.

"They're...alright?" Katherine responded.

He frowned. "You're a lousy liar."

She sighed. "Alright, so I'm not really on the best terms with my dad right now," she said quickly. "In fact, he's pretty pissed at me." She let out a small laugh.

Jack laughed with her. "What could _you_ possibly do to piss of your dad?"

She looked nervous for a second, but covered it up smoothly, so Jack questioned his own sight. "Oh, you know…just average teenage girl stuff?"

"Uh, okay," Jack responded.

"So," Katherine tried to shift the focus of the conversation over to him, "tell me about your family."

"My family?" he asked, surprised. "Well, my birth mom's been gone for as long as I can remember," he began, and Katherine's eyes grew wide. He went on. "My dad passed of some disease when I was five—something work-related, I think. That job sucked the life right outta him."

"Jack I'm so sorry—" Katherine started, but he just nodded and went on.

"I bounced around the foster system for a while after that. But then when I was nine, I got adopted by my mom. She's one of those free-spirit artsy types. I don't think I've ever known her to stay in a relationship for more than three months. But she always wanted a kid, so she adopted me. She taught me everything I know about art. You know, she came out here for her art carreer, but I can tell sometimes she wishes she never left Santa Fe. That's where she's from. But I'm gonna go there, and one of these days I'll take her with me." He stopped to take a breath. He looked over at Katherine, who just stared at him. "Now, uh," he cleared his throat, "uh, don't cry, or anything."

Katherine laughed in spite of herself. "You know what, Jack?" she said after a moment. "You're adorable."

"Adorable?" he asked, not sure how he felt about the description.

"Adorable," she confirmed.

"Adorable," he laughed.

**A/N: Hey everybody! It's been like two months, but I'm back! Sorry about that. I've been busy. And with finals approaching I probably won't be on a regular updating schedule again until school's out. But I really wanted to update, since it's been so long. Thanks for sticking around!**

**-Bella**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Newsies._**

"Alright," Katherine said, the kids gathering around her, "the paper just needs a name."

"Okay, how about this," Race said, raising his arms up and spreading them out dramatically, "_The Central Banner._"

The room stayed silent for a moment. Albert shrugged. "Well…nobody else has a better idea."

Murmurs of agreement filtered through Davey's room.

"Okay, then it's settled!" Katherine announced happily, picking up the papers on which the article was handwritten—detailing not only the cut to the school paper but also the circumstances of Crutchie's detention and the Delanceys' "good fortune" in getting off.

"We are going to get in so much trouble," Jack smiled at her.

"_Pssh,"_ Katherine smiled, "None of our names are gonna be on it."

"Really, Katherine? Who else could it be?"

"Alright," she admitted, "So they'll know it was us. But only one of us has to take the fall, and I'm the one who's going to be typing everything up."

"Katherine, we can't let you do that," Davey said. "It was all of us. It's all our ideas, we're all printing the papers out, _and_ we're going to be circulating them."

"No," she responded firmly. "And you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."

"You're too stubborn," Jack sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Look who's talking," she grinned.

Race started making retching noises, calling out, "Oh, get a room!"

Everyone laughed. "Well, I guess that's my cue to leave," Katherine said, looking down at her phone. "It's getting late, anyway. My mom will want me home for dinner."

"Let me walk you home?" Jack asked, and Katherine smiled.

"Oh, why not?"

"Ooooo!" the boys hollered, laughing as they headed out the door. Just as they headed out, Jack turned around, glared at each of them, and then slammed the door behind him.

"But we're all thinking it, right?" Romeo piped up once the pair had left. "When are they gonna get together?"

* * *

They all arrived early to school the next day, each with at least twenty copies of the paper in their bags. They didn't look nearly as official as usual, but it was the article that really mattered. Katherine had emailed them all a copy, and those who could printed them up at home. For the rest, Jack suggested putting the article on a flashdrive and taking advantage of the school's printer ("Using Pulitzer's own computers against him!" he had so smugly exclaimed).

"Okay, everybody knows the plan, right?" Davey addressed them. "Take the papers to the classrooms, put one on the teacher's desk, and put ten throughout the room. Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Okay, Race, you take A Wing, Specs, you have B Wing, Sniper, take C wing…"

* * *

A kid came into Mr. Seitz's third hour later that day, handing him a little white slip of paper and quickly exiting the room. Mr. Seitz frowned at the pass, then called out, "Mr. Jack Kelly?"

Jack groaned. He knew what this was about. Still, he grinned as he made his way to the front of the room. "Got a present for me, Seitz?"

"I wouldn't be making a joke out of this if I were you," Seitz reprimanded. Then, he added with a whisper, "This is a pass to the principal's office."

Jack sighed. "I guess I'll be on my way, then?" he said, taking the pass as Seitz nodded.

Jack turned around, saluting the staring class, who all knew exactly where Jack was going.

"Good luck," Crutchie mouthed.

* * *

"Ah, Mr. Kelly," Pulitzer's secretary, Hannah, said as he entered the office. "Haven't seen you in a while. I thought you were keeping yourself out of trouble?"

"I tried for a while," Jack shrugged. "Turns out it just wasn't my style."

She laughed in spite of herself. "Alright then, I think he's pretty eager to see you," she gestured behind herself to Pulitzer's door.

"Wish me luck!" he grinned, opening the door. "Afternoon, Joe!" he exclaimed.

"I wouldn't advise using that tone with me, Mr. Kelly," Mr. Pulitzer admonished.

"Oh, and why not? I thought we were friends!"

"You are as shameless and disrespectful a creature as I remember."

"Oh thank you, sir, no one's ever complimented me like that before."

"Take a seat, Mr. Kelly," Pulitzer sighed.

Jack grinned. That's when he saw that one of the seats was already occupied. "Hey, what do you have her in here for?" he demanded.

"Jack, no—"

"Don't waste your breath on him, darling." Pulitzer told her. Then he turned to Jack. "It looks like you've met my daughter, Katherine?"

To Pulitzer's amusement, Jack turned completely white. He stared on in shock.

"Ah, yes," he smiled. "She's a great writer, isn't she? Despite this—" he picked up his own copy of their article—"little lapse in judgement. But we're done with that now, aren't we, sweetheart?"

"Jack, I wanted to tell you—"

"Oh, don't trouble the boy with your problems, dearest. Mr. Kelly has a plateful of his own. Now get on to class."

"But, Dad—"

"To class, Katherine."

She picked up her book bag reluctantly, shot Jack one last _I'm sorry_ look, then left the room.

They both watched her leave. Jack was still in shock. _How could she…_

Pulitzer smiled smugly. "Now. To address the situation at hand."

**A/N: Hi guys! A new chapter up and it's only been a week! Crazy! I've been waiting to write the plot twist. We all knew it was coming, but I've been eager to write it anyway. And maybe I also wrote it to take my mind off of finals this coming week...but anyway. I hope you enjoyed it! I have big plans for how I'm going to be translating Brooklyn and the other boroughs to this AU. But don't get too excited just in case it's not as good as I think it's gonna be. Okay bye. Also if anyone has any upcoming finals-break a leg! **

**xoxo Bella**


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